"Desperate Sons" by Les Standiford (2012)

Author Les Standiford carefully examines the relationship between the Stamp Act of 1765, which was passed in March of that year by Parliament, with implementation taking pace in November of the same year. Of course the colonies were furious with this new form of taxation. During the months leading to the actual Landing of the Stamps here in America, citizens from Boston to South Carolina were in a foul mood over this latest economic burden, proposed by a government thousands of miles away.

Today’s Tea Partiers claim to be revolutionary, but in reality, they are merely unhappy with their representatives. Unlike the original Tea Party activists in Boston, today’s activists have the opportunity to vote for their elected officials. Our forefathers did not have that luxury.

When the British ships did arrive with the cargo of Tax Stamps, they were not allowed to unload them. And when they did, they were not allowed to distribute them. On October 22, 1765 the ship Edward, carrying the stamps for the colonies arrived off the Narrows in Brooklyn, site of today’s Verazzano Narrows Bridge, and anchored. Without a military escort of British man of wars, it was too risky to attempt to move the stamps ashore at the Battery in Manhattan.

Outraged citizens, from Boston to Charleston, raised Liberty Trees, Liberty Oaks, and in New York the Liberty Pole, which was the mast from a burnt ship, was the rallying point for the colonists on the Commons in lower Manhattan. When the British hacked one down, another took its place. The people even burned the house of the Mayor and Governor, driving them to seek refuge in Fort George. This was New York’s version of the Tea Party that would take place several years later in Boston.

The Stamp Act served as a cohesive force which united the colonies in a way that had never occurred before. With all of the colonies being adversely affected by the onerous new taxes, which included legal documents, nine of the 13 colonies banded together and petitioned the King for redress. Of course, all they received for that effort were the Townshend Acts.

The Crown, reasoning that the colonists were unhappy with being taxed for the things they were making here on their own, decided to tax imported materials only, while not allowing the colonies to place any export taxes on the goods coming from America. The main point of both the Stamp Act, as well as the Townshend Acts, was to have the colonies pay an inordinate share of the costs for the maintenance of the colonies, as well as the spiraling expense of Britain’s war with France.

A fascinating book which takes a close look at the gross inequities which fostered a revolution; Mr. Standiford has written a unique perspective on a portion of our history which may even have relevance to the social and economic inequities of the present day.

The Politics of Division and Denial - America As a Third World Nation

The climate of intolerance is rising in America. The people are angry. Though I in no way condone violence, I do understand the tide of intolerance that breeds it. While listening to the news about the tragedy in Arizona yesterday, I couldn't help but be reminded of the the lyrics to "Who Killed Davey Moore", the 1963 Bob Dylan recording which poses the question of just who was responsible for the death of the boxer Davey Moore. The song is a series of denials by all parties involved in the blatant exploitation of Mr. Moore, which resulted in his death. Kind of like politics in America today. It's killing us, yet no one is to blame.

Today, and throughout the week coming, we will hear all manner of finger pointing concerning who/what is responsible for this tragedy. And the answers will be the same as it was for Davey Moore. No one will step up and admit their own intolerance. It's always someone else's fault. Well, I've got a big flash for you;

We are all responsible for the senseless events in Arizona. We are all responsible for the climate of intolerance that currently grips our nation. We were all set up to be divided by the politicians. And our shame is that we let it happen. We have let the Conservatives spread their hateful and divisive views to the point that, "We have," finally, as Pogo once opined, "...met the enemy, and he is us." We are responsible for letting ourselves be divided. Liberals, Conservatives and Tea Party members are turning our nation into a Third World Country. We are already the most indebted nation in the world. Need we sink even lower?

As I watched the news unfold yesterday, I had to wonder how we ever arrived at this point. And all I could think of was the divisive, hateful comments that will come of this. The Conservatives will state that the over reaching agenda on the part of the Liberals is to blame. And the Liberals will claim that the Conservative climate of fear currently gripping the nation is at fault. But it is our collective fault for having let ourselves be divided with "window dressing" issues such as flag burning, abortion, gay marriage and so-called "patriotism" that is really to blame.

I hope that you get what I am driving at. Maybe the lyrics will help to drive the point home. I hope so, for time is growing short, as are tempers, in America today.

"Who Killed Davey Moore" by Bob Dylan

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not I," says the referee,
"Don't point your finger at me.
I could've stopped it in the eighth
An' maybe kept him from his fate,
But the crowd would've booed, I'm sure,
At not gettin' their money's worth.
It's too bad he had to go,
But there was a pressure on me too, you know.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all."

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not us," says the angry crowd,
Whose screams filled the arena loud.
"It's too bad he died that night
But we just like to see a fight.
We didn't mean for him t' meet his death,
We just meant to see some sweat,
There ain't nothing wrong in that.
It wasn't us that made him fall.
No, you can't blame us at all."

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not me," says his manager,
Puffing on a big cigar.
"It's hard to say, it's hard to tell,
I always thought that he was well.
It's too bad for his wife an' kids he's dead,
But if he was sick, he should've said.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all."

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?


"Not me," says the gambling man,
With his ticket stub still in his hand.
"It wasn't me that knocked him down,
My hands never touched him none.
I didn't commit no ugly sin,
Anyway, I put money on him to win.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all."

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not me," says the boxing writer,
Pounding print on his old typewriter,
Sayin', "Boxing ain't to blame,
There's just as much danger in a football game."
Sayin', "Fist fighting is here to stay,
It's just the old American way.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all."

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not me," says the man whose fists
Laid him low in a cloud of mist,
Who came here from Cuba's door
Where boxing ain't allowed no more.
"I hit him, I hit him, yes, it's true,
But that's what I am paid to do.
Don't say 'murder,' don't say 'kill.'
It was destiny, it was God's will."

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?